Broken Swan
by AlbertaGirl78
Summary: Throughout her entire life, Isabella Swan was always the Ugly Duckling. But with the help of a new friend, a little bit of Holiday wishing and a Green Eyed boy, she becomes the Swan she always wanted to be. My contribution to Breath-of-Twilight's 2014 Countdown to Christmas.


**A/N: This was my one shot Contribution to the Christmas Collab: Countdown to Christmas - A magical Twist in Time, Hosted by Breath-of-Twilight. Thank you so much to BoT for asking me to participate in the Countdown this year. When I received the email asking if I wanted to participate, I may have let out a little girly squeal.**

**The main idea behind this year's countdown was a twisted tale of a traditional fairy tale. This is my version of The Ugly Duckling.**

**Thank you as well to my beta CullenSweetheart – I can always count on you! I hope you all enjoy this slightly twisted holiday tale!**

**I don't own Twilight.**

**Broken Swan**

When I was a little girl, I never heard that I was as pretty as a princess. My mom's favourite thing to say was, "Oh Bella, you're the smartest girl I know". I learned from a very young age that meant that I was not pretty; I knew my looks were below average. Stringy and mousy brown hair, dull brown eyes, disproportioned nose, and thick coke bottle glasses. As I got older, those features only got worse. When I hit puberty, instead of blossoming, I gained weight and developed a bad case of acne. Needless to say, being teased in high school was not a huge shock. The worst of my tormenters were Rosalie Hale and Alice Brandon, co-captains of the cheer squad, and their band of lemmings.

The only person close to my age what was ever nice to me was Jacob Black, the son of my Dad's best friend. I would never have called him a friend, but he was never cruel to me. But even that changed in my junior year of high school. At my mother's insistence, I invited Jacob to my junior prom. He accepted. When he picked me up, my mother took about a million pictures. When we climbed into his old beat up Rabbit, I begged him to go anywhere but the dance. We ended up at the beach in La Push. That night he told me that he was in love with me, that he had been for a while and that's why he accepted my invitation. I let him kiss me and before I truly realized what was happening, my dress was off and Jacob was taking my virginity. I wasn't happy about losing it on the beach, but the way Jacob held me after made me feel special. I was sore from our activities, but I was happy. When I called Jacob the next afternoon to see if he wanted to do something, he claimed he was busy. A week later I found out that he was just like everyone else I knew. He had made a bet with a couple of guys at my school that he could bed me and if he won, he would end up with a thousand dollars.

I never did tell my parents why I never wanted to go with them to La Push again, or why I avoided Jacob and his father if they came to our house.

My mother always tried to tell me that high school was supposed to be the best time of my life. But after Jacob, Rosalie and Alice made sure that it would be my worst. The last two weeks of senior year, they were relentless. Their torment took on a whole new level.

"Hey Isabella," Alice whispered from behind me in Biology class, "Do you think you'll be like the Ugly Duckling? Oh wait, no you won't cause the ugly duckling was a beautiful white swan with a long slender neck, you're just a fat and stout ugly brown one, brown ones never grow up to be beautiful."

I squeezed my eyes shut, the traitorous tears threatening to fall; throughout the years, I couldn't stop their words from hurting. I heard Rosalie snicker from across the aisle. "Yeah Isabella, I think your parents must have been delusional or hopped up on something when they named you Bella." She let out a snide chuckle, "You're about as far from Bella as I am from ugly."

I tried to ignore them; I just paid attention to the teacher as he went over reviews for our final exams. I wanted nothing more than for the school year to be over. I had been awarded a full scholarship to Northwestern University in Chicago and I was leaving the second my diploma was in my hand. They didn't let up, every day, taunting me and then laughing when the tears would fall.

It was the day before Prom, and a week before graduation when things came to a peak. I was on the 101 between Forks and Port Angeles in my Dad's old red pickup. As soon as I left the town limits, I let out a sigh of relief. It was like the whole town was pressing down on my chest. About 20 minutes after leaving town a familiar red BMW speed up behind me. They must have known it was me and not my Dad because they started honking. I kept my speed steady and kept my eyes on the road ahead, ignoring the honks of the ostentatious car and its occupants behind me. The road was practically deserted; they could have passed at any time. When they finally pulled out and went to speed around me, I glanced at the car as they passed and saw Rosalie in the driver's seat, Alice beside her with Jessica Stanley and Leah Clearwater in the back seat. They were all laughing like crazy. Rosalie pulled in front and slammed on her brakes. The brakes on my Dad's old truck were touchy on a good day, so when I shoved my foot into the pedal, the truck took a few seconds to start stopping. I swerved to miss the car in front of me and slid into the ditch, right into a tree on the side of the road, hitting my face and my chest on the steering wheel. The last thing I heard before everything went black was someone screaming.

I woke up the next day at the hospital in Port Angeles; my parents were sitting on either side of me. My mom had obviously been crying and my Dad looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"Mom, Dad?" I croaked out.

"Oh Bella, baby! You're awake." Mom cried out.

My dad calmly squeezed my hand and then reached over and pushed the call button to tell the nurse that I was awake. Within an hour the doctor was in to see me and after a few tests, I was allowed to go home. In between the tests, the state patrol officer that was first on the scene of the accident stopped in to get my side of what happened. Apparently Rosalie and Alice tried to make up some story about me driving recklessly, but for some reason, Jessica and Leah actually told the truth. Rosalie and Alice thought it would be funny to scare the crap out of me, but it backfired, causing the accident and putting me in the hospital. Once he had my side of the story, which pretty much matched what Jessica and Leah had said, he asked if I wanted to press charges. I didn't, I just wanted to get to Chicago and get them out of my life, but my parents insisted. I didn't have to do much, just write out a statement and it would be dealt with.

A week later, I walked the stage to accept my diploma, less than an hour after that, my parents and I were on our way to the airport for our red eye flight to Chicago. I had never in my life been happier knowing that I was about to leave my life behind. My parents stayed for a week to help me settle into the small apartment I was renting until school began in August, and then I would be moving into the dorms.

The first month on my own, without my parents just down the hall from me was hard, but it was exactly what I needed. I started making changes in my life. I didn't have a car so I started to walk everywhere and even took advantage of the gym in the basement of my apartment building. I also started eating better, which helped to clear up the acne that had been plaguing me. I was stuck with the glasses for a while longer, but the rest of me was being improved. By the time school started, I had already dropped 20 lbs and my face was clear.

The day I moved into the dorm, I didn't know what to expect from my roommate. The letter I had received from Campus Housing had said she was an English Major like me, but one look at the tall, blonde and beautiful Tanya Denali had me immediately worried that I was going to have to deal with another Rosalie Hale.

I was frozen in the doorway of my room as I watched Tanya empty a box. She glanced up and grinned.

"Hey! You must be Isabella." She said enthusiastically.

"Uh, yeah. That's me. And you're Tanya?" I asked, apprehension seeping into my voice.

"I sure am. It's great to meet you!" She said as she bounded over to me and pulled me in for a hug. "You and I are going to be great friends!"

She pulled me into the room and we spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking and chatting. I discovered quickly that the only similarity between Tanya and Rosalie was their hair color. Tanya was warm and friendly and easy to get along with. She quickly became an amazing friend. She helped me change my outlook on life.

By the end of November, I felt like a new person. With Tanya's help and guidance, I had lost a ton of weight and was the healthiest I had ever been in my life. Due to the cost of airfare, I wasn't able to fly home for Thanksgiving, so Tanya invited me to go home with her. I didn't want to impose, but the idea of not being along was appealing. Tanya's mother, Carmen, was the one to convince me to go. She called the weekend prior and told me that I was more than welcome, that they had a nice guest room with my name on it and she wouldn't take no for an answer.

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Tanya and I had arranged to meet up with some of our classmates for an early dinner before heading back to the dorm to pack up. I liked most of the people that Tanya and I had become friends with, except for two. Irina Ivanov and Kate Sawyer. Irina and Kate reminded me so much of Alice and Rosalie that I immediately shied away from them. Even Tanya, who was easy going and friends with everyone, didn't like them much. They found out that Tanya's parents were wealthy, and tried to cling on.

I arrived at the café before Tanya did and grabbed the empty seat next to Angela Weber, a girl from my dorm floor that was also in my many of my classes.

"Hey Isabella, did you decide what you're doing for the long weekend?" Angela asked with a smile.

"I did. Tan's mom actually called to convince me to go up to Madison with her for the weekend, Mrs. Denali didn't think that I should be on campus alone."

I heard Kate snicker under her breath from across the table. "You know that the Denali's are well known for helping charity cases. They must feel sorry for you." She said with disdain. Irina nodded her head thoughtfully from her spot beside Kate.

I was about to say something back when Tanya breezed in and sat down across from me. "No, Kate. If my parent's wanted to invite a charity case, we would have asked you. You're the one in dire need personality replacement and I hear they are very hard to come by."

Tanya turned her back on an opened mouthed Kate and gave me an evil grin. "So my charity case, you ready for the weekend? We are going to have a blast!" She said enthusiastically.

I let out a laugh and shook my head. "I am. I'm actually looking forward to it. I can't wait to meet the rest of your family."

"And they are going to love you! Oh, by the way, I just got off the phone with my Aunt Esme, my cousins are actually going to be home too! So you'll get to meet Emmett and Edward!"

"Emmett 's the one going to school in California on a football thing isn't he?" I asked, Tanya had told me all about her family and I wanted to make sure I had them right in my head.

"He is, and Eddie's at Pritzker in Chicago, he just started his first year of med school."

"Right. So they will both be there too?"

"They will, you'll love them! Well, Em for sure, Eddie's a bit of a tough shell, he's a typical science geek, really shy and quiet, he was bullied a lot in high school. But he's such a great guy!"

I nodded. I knew exactly what he went through.

We spent the rest of dinner chatting with Angela and trying to ignore Kate and Irina. Shortly after 5 we headed back to the dorm and got things ready for our drive the next morning. Tanya wanted to be at her parents for breakfast, so we were in bed early and on the road by 6 the next morning.

We spent the three-hour drive from Evanston listening to music and talking. Tanya filled me in on everything to do with her family. I had already met her parents when they were in Chicago for Tanya's birthday in October. Her father, Eleazar, was a lawyer and her mother, Carmen, was an English Professor at the University of Wisconsin. Tanya's older brother, Jasper had followed in their mother's footsteps and was working on his Masters in History in Minneapolis with plans to become a teacher. Esme, Tanya's aunt, was an interior designer in Madison, Esme was married to Carlisle Cullen, a Doctor at University Hospital. Tanya's cousins, Edward and Emmett, were complete opposites of each other. Emmett, the oldest, was athletic and excelled in anything to do with sports. He was studying Sports Medicine on a Football scholarship in California. Edward was a year younger than Emmett and in his first year of medical school after graduating a year early with honors in Biological Sciences from Northwestern.

"You will love Emmett, he's always been the life of the party, so easy to get along with and fiercely loyal. Edward was always what most would call a nerd or a geek. In high school he shot up several inches really quickly, so add in the glasses and the acne along with suddenly becoming tall and gangly. Poor guy was tormented, but Em, he ruled the school and no one even looked in Eddie's direction while Em was around."

"I wish I had someone like Emmett around when I was in high school."

"Yeah, Emmett would have put those skanks in their place, that's for sure! But you've got me now; no skank is going to mess with you. I seriously don't understand why you were tormented! You're gorgeous! I would kill for the wave in your hair!"

I just shook my head. "You didn't see me last year. I've dropped at least 60 pounds and you're the one that styled my hair for me. It was a mess."

"Still!" She shouted with an indignant huff. I just grinned over at her; it was nice to finally have someone, other than my parents, in my corner.

Just after 9, we pulled in the driveway of a gorgeous, pale blue, two-story house. It even had the stereotypical white picket fence lining the front of the property. It was fully decorated for the holiday; I could see lights strung up around the roof and a wreath hanging from the front door.

Tanya let out a contented sigh and smiled over at me. "Home sweet home!"

She jumped out of the car, shouting for me to follow her and made her way up to the front walkway. I was close behind her as she pushed the door and shouted that she was home. I heard Carmen squeal and a moment later she appeared wiping her hands on an apron, a smile matching her daughters on her face. She pulled Tanya in for a hug, telling her how much she missed her and how happy she was to have her daughter home. Carmen looked over and saw me. If it was possible, her smile got even bigger.

"Isabella! I am so happy you could make it too! Come in, give me a hug sweetie!" I was immediately engulfed in a warm hug. I felt myself tearing up. When Carmen pulled away she noticed my glassy eyes. "Oh sweetie, what's wrong?"

I just shook my head. "Nothing at all, Mrs. Denali. Just missing my own mom a little."

She gave me a sympathetic smile and squeezed me tighter. "Well, first, call me Carmen, and second, while you're here, you can think of me as your pseudo mom." She whispered and kissed my forehead. I smiled and sniffled.

Carmen then pulled us into the kitchen and made up some breakfast for Tanya and me. It was just three of us. Eleazar was at work until noon and Jasper and the Cullens weren't expected until later in the afternoon.

Tanya and I were in the kitchen prepping pie crusts while Carmen ran to the grocery store for some things she forgot when we heard the front door bang open.

"AUNTY CARMEN! You're boys are heeeerrrrreee!" I heard an exuberant male voice shout.

"You don't have to shout the house down doofus!" Tanya shouted back with a roll of her eyes.

I laughed but the sound died on my lips when the source of the voice along with two others walked into the kitchen. My eyes immediately latched onto the last to enter the room. He had to be the most amazing looking guy I had ever seen in my life. At least 6'2" with messy reddish brown hair and piercing green eyes slightly hidden behind a pair of wire rimmed glasses. My mouth went dry and I couldn't form a word.

I was quickly pulled out of my stupor by the shouter. "Don't call me doofus, doofus!" Came from the tallest of the three. He walked over to Tanya and pulled her in for a hug then started giving her a noogie.

"Fuck, Emmett. Stop!" Tanya shouted with a laugh.

He stopped and pulled away, a mischievous sparkle in his blue eyes. "Well, who do we have here?" He asked when he spotted me.

I blushed and looked over at Tanya. "OH! Guys, this is my roommate and new bestie, Isabella. Bella, these three doofuses are my brother and my cousins. Emmett is the big dork that felt the need to shout the house down. The blonde is Jasper and this guy, is Edward." She pulled the man I had been staring at over and gave him a hug.

Before I could say hello, Emmett pulled me into a hug as well. He almost knocked the wind out of me as he crushed me against his chest. "Bella! It's great to meet ya! Tanya mentioned you in a few of her emails."

"Em! Let the girl go, she can't breathe!" Tanya said as she slapped him.

"Oops, sorry." He said with a grin as he let me go.

"It's fine." I said with a small smile. I wasn't used to this kind of attention. Either I was invisible or only got the negative kind.

Jasper stepped over to me and extended his hand. "Hi Bella, It's nice to finally meet you. My sister has talked about you a lot."

I smiled and shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you too, Jasper. Tanya's talked about you too. All of you."

I looked over at Edward and he seemed to be lost in his head, his eyes locked just over my shoulder. Tanya gave him a little shoulder check and he shook his head a little. He gave me a small smile. "It's nice to meet you, Bella. I'm glad you were able to come, uh, I mean." He started stumbling over his words a little bit and his face turned bright red.

I giggled and felt my face flush. "Uh, thanks." I stuttered a little.

I looked over at Tanya and she was looking from Edward to me with a huge smile on her face. She clapped Edward on the shoulder and cleared her throat. "Okay boys. Mom is going to be home from the store any time now. Go put your crap away and then help her bring stuff in."

Edward glanced at me with a shy grin as he followed Jasper and Emmett out of the room. As soon as he was out of earshot, Tanya pounced.

"Bella," She said in a singsong voice. "Do you like my cousin? Do you think Eddie's cute? You do don't you? OH you two were too cute! I can't believe how red you both went!"

I could feel my face heating up further as she continued to gush. She finally fell silent and I looked over at her. She had an unreadable look on her face, almost as if she was studying me.

"What?" I asked as I ran a hand over my hair.

"Nothing really. It's just, well, I've known you a few months now and you've never given any guy a second glance, but one glimpse of my cousin and you turn into a giggly little girl. It's kinda nice."

I just blushed again and looked back at the pie crust I was rolling out. "Are you sure he's a geek? Cause he sure doesn't look like one to me, believe me, I'm a complete nerd, I would know."

Tanya started to giggle at my outburst. Before she could reply, the guys walked back in with their hands full of bags. Carmen was a step behind them. She took a look at the dozen pie crusts Tanya and I had made and a smile spread across her face.

"Girls! You're amazing! This will save me so much time tonight! Oh, Isabella, did Tanya introduce you to her brother and cousins?"

I blushed again and nodded my head. "Yeah, she did, as soon as they got here."

"Good! Okay, boys. Unpack those bags, you know where everything goes." Carmen helped the guys unpack the grocery bags and then ushered Tanya and me out of the kitchen. "You girls go change out of those flour covered clothes and go relax in the family room. We're ordering in for dinner, so nothing to cook until tomorrow."

An hour later all of us were in the family room. Somehow, I ended up on the small love seat beside Edward. He kept glancing over at me; a blush similar to mine kept creeping up every time he looked. We were both quiet as we listened to Emmett talk about his time in California. I quickly realized that Emmett liked to talk; he barely let anyone else get a word in. After about twenty minutes, Edward leaned over a little to whisper something to me.

"Um, I'm sorry about him. He's always been like this."

I looked over at him and blushed when I noticed how close he had leaned. "Oh, no, it's okay."

"So, uh, are you in the same classes as Tanya?" He asked, still leaning towards me.

"Some, we both have the same major. She said you're in medical school?"

"Yeah, first year. It's been pretty gruelling so far."

I nodded. "I can't even begin to imagine. What kind of doctor do you want to be?" I asked.

His whole face lit up as he started talking about his future. How he hoped to become a pediatrician and work out of the Children's hospital in Milwaukee. It was close enough to home where he could see his family often, but not close enough where his mother could just drop in unexpectedly. He asked about my life, where I came from and why I chose Illinois for University. He was impressed when I told him that the biggest reason for my choice was the full ride scholarship I had won.

"That's amazing. So not only are you beautiful, but you're smart too?" He asked softly as his face turned pink.

My eyes went wide and I could feel my face heat up. "Um, well. I've never been called beautiful before."

"Are you serious?" He asked shocked.

I just nodded my head and looked down at my lap.

"Isabella," He whispered, "You're probably the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

I looked up and into his green eyes. They showed nothing but sincerity.

"Thank you." I said, barely loud enough for me to hear.

Edward looked like he wanted to say something else, but we were interrupted by Carmen calling us into the kitchen for dinner. She had ordered a variety of pizzas. This was a good thing because Emmett ended up eating two of them himself.

After dinner, Tanya pulled me away, yelling to the boys that we'd be right back. She pulled into her bedroom and closed the door.

"So you and Eddie looked pretty cozy before dinner." She said as she bounced on her toes.

"We were just talking about school and what he plans to do in the future. He's really nice."

She nodded. "And what was all that blushing just before Mom called?"

"Oh, uh, heacalledmebeautiful." I mumbled out

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that." She said with a grin. "Slow it down there, Swan."

I took a deep breath and looked back up at her. "He called me beautiful."

Tanya squealed like a little girl. "I knew it, from the second he laid his eyes on you! I knew you'd be perfect for each other! Oh this is fantastic!"

"Whoa, Tanya. Slow down. What do you mean we're perfect together? I just met him, and besides, he's gorgeous, there's no way."

"Oh ye of little faith my dear friend. Just you wait. I am going to bet that by Christmas, you two are a hot and heavy item on the fast track to the altar! Oh I can't wait for you to be my cousin." She squealed again and bounced out of the room.

I quickly followed her back down to the family room. My spot beside Edward was still vacant. I smiled shyly at him as I sat back down. We resumed our conversation, the beautiful comment from earlier still lingering in my mind.

The rest of the night sped by, Edward and I gradually moving closer to each other. At one point he took my hand and didn't let go. It was starting to get late and I had started to yawn.

"You're yawning every few seconds now. You should head up to bed." Edward said as he ran his thumb across the back of my hand.

I nodded and moved to stand up. I was about to say goodnight when he stood too.

"Would it be okay if I walked you upstairs?" He asked.

"Sure."

He took my hand again, said goodnight to everyone else, and headed upstairs, but not before I saw the knowing look from Tanya and the thumbs up from Emmett.

When we got to the guest room that I was staying in, Edward smiled down at me. "Isabella, may I kiss you?" He asked like a perfect gentleman.

I just nodded dumbly. He leaned over and lightly brushed his lips across mine. I gasped at the spark I felt. It warmed my whole body starting at my lips. He brushed his lips against mine again, this time slightly harder, with a little more passion. I sighed and leaned into him, my hands involuntarily finding their way onto his shoulders, pulling him closer. His arms wrapped around me and pulled me into his chest. His tongue lightly flicked my lower lip and I opened my mouth to him. Our kiss deepened and I felt the rumble of a moan in his chest that was pressed against mine. I don't know how long we stood there, our mouths exploring each other's, but Edward's exuberant older brother rudely interrupted us.

"Hell yeah! You go baby bro!" Emmett shouted from the end of the hallway.

We jumped apart; both our faces flushed from our unexpected hallway make out session.

"Aw, don't stop on my account." Emmett chuckled as he walked by. As he passed me, he leaned over, placed a brotherly kiss on the top of my head. "Welcome to the family Bella" he whispered then disappeared into the room he was staying in.

"Again, I'm sorry about him. He lacks a verbal filter." Edward said, his hands reaching for me.

I let him pull me back to him. "It's okay. I don't mind. He's kinda like the goofy older brother that I never had."

Edward nodded his head and kissed me again. This time he kept it chaste. "I'm going to say goodnight now. I heard you tell my Aunt Carmen that you were going to be up early to help her in the kitchen. So you need your sleep."

"Fine, I guess I'll see you in the morning."

"You will, sweet dreams." He kissed me once more and then walked down the hall to his room.

The next morning I was up with the sun. Tanya was still dead to the world, so Carmen and I started getting all the food ready to go. Shortly after 8, the front door opened and in walked one of the prettiest women I had ever seen. I knew immediately that this was Edward's mother; they had the exact same hair and eye color.

"Carmen, I am here to offer my service. What can I do?" She called as she came into the kitchen.

"Hi, Es. Not a lot actually. I have the lovely Bella helping me out here."

"Oh right, Tanya's roommate. It's lovely to meet you dear. I'm Esme Cullen. I hope my boys didn't make a bad impression on you last night?"

I blushed and quickly glanced away. "It's nice to meet you Mrs. Cullen. And no, Edward and Emmett were great."

Tanya chose that moment walk in. "Yeah, Edward was great cause he had his tongue shoved down your throat for part of the evening!" She said with an evil sounding laugh.

Esme looked shocked for a moment. "Edward?" She asked looking over at Tanya. "Edward Cullen? My son?"

I blushed again, embarrassed because I didn't know if she was upset that he was kissing someone like me or for another reason.

"Yes, Aunt Es. You should have seen them. They like clicked from the second they laid eyes on each other. It was kinda creepy, but romantic at the same time."

Esme let out a squeal similar to Tanya's from the night before and immediately engulfed me in a hug. "Oh sweetie! That's fantastic. Edward's been anti-girl for so long now, that I was starting to get worried."

Esme spent the next hour, until the boys wandered downstairs, asking me question after question, about my family, where I was from, my education, everything she could think of. When Edward walked into the room, she pulled him in for a hug and whispered something. He looked at her, smiled and nodded as the tips of his ears turned red. He turned back to me and pulled me in for a hug.

"Good morning." He said as he placed a small kiss on my lips.

"Very good morning" I replied with a sigh, kissing him back. Emmett broke our little bubble again when he came into the room demanding food; Jasper and Mr. Denali weren't far behind him hoping for the same thing.

Carmen had a few dishes full of a breakfast casserole warming in the oven. She pulled them out and told everyone to help themselves as she got the coffee poured. After everyone ate, she made the boys clean up the dishes and then ushered everyone but Esme out of the room so that they could get the rest of the food prepared for Thanksgiving dinner.

I excused myself to go have a shower and when I came back down, Edward was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs.

"Uh, Isabella, would you like to go for a drive with me? I have to run to my parent's place to pick up my Dad. Mom took his car because hers is in the shop, we could take the scenic route so you could see a little bit of Madison." He rambled a bit.

I grinned up at him. "I would love to."

"Good! Great! Let's go." He said with a relived sigh.

I pulled on my winter coat and we headed out to his car. I don't know what kind of car I was expecting, but it sure wasn't the silver Volvo SUV. He held the door open for me and helped me climb into the passenger seat. Once he climbed in himself, he smiled over at me and we were off. The first 15 minutes of the drive, Edward kept up a commentary about that area we were in. Madison was a nice city, somewhere I could see myself visiting often.

We pulled up in front of a small blue bungalow, all decorated for Christmas. After seeing the Denali's house, I was expecting the Cullen's to be similar.

"This place is so nice. Did you grow up here?" I asked as Edward helped me out of the car.

"No, actually, my parents bought this place shortly after I moved to Chicago for school. Em and I still have a bedroom here, but the place we lived was closer to my Aunt and Uncle's place"

Edward pushed open the front door and called out for his Dad. As soon as Dr. Cullen came around the corner, I knew exactly where Edward got his good looks. He had Esme's colouring, but his height and bone structure was all his Dad.

"Well, well, who do we have here?" Dr. Cullen asked.

"Dad, this is Isabella Swan, she's Tanya's roommate."

"Hello, Dr. Cullen."

"Lovely to meet you Isabella, and please call me Carlisle. I just have a question, and please don't take this the wrong way, but Edward, why is Tanya's roommate with you and not at the house with Tanya?"

Edward stammered a bit and we both turned bright red. Carlisle started to chuckle. "I guess that answers my question." He clapped Edward on the back. "Well, lets go, I'm sure your mother and Carmen will have some appetizers waiting when we get back."

When we got back to the Denali house, the living room was full of boxes of Christmas decorations. Carmen had sent Eleazar, Jasper and Emmett to pull them all out of the basement. I was looking forward to helping decorate the house after dinner.

Edward and I didn't get any time to talk before dinner, but we were constantly touching; my hand in his or his hand on my knee. Always touching in some way.

Dinner was finally served and not only did it look amazing, but the smells that came out of the kitchen were drool worthy. Once we were all seated, Eleazar stood and thanked us all for being there to celebrate Thanksgiving and the beginning of the holiday season with them.

"Now our usual tradition is to go around the table and give our thanks. So, I will start. I just want to say thank you for my lovely wife of 28 years. Carmen, dear, I love you more today than I did back then. I also want to say thank you for our children. Jasper and Tanya, you are both blessings."

We went around the table from there. I was second to last, and tried to come up with something as lovely to say as the rest of the family did.

"Uh, I just want to say thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Denali for inviting me this weekend, thank you to Tanya for becoming such an amazing friend, and uh, for introducing me to Edward." I felt myself blush and quickly sat down as everyone else chuckled. Except for Emmett, he grinned over at Edward and raised his fist for a bump. Esme slapped his hand down and told him to behave.

Edward was the last to stand. "Um, well, thank you for my family, who has always been supportive of me, thank you Aunt Carmen and Uncle Eleazar for hosting dinner this year and uh, thank you to Tanya for bringing along Isabella, who I hope I get a chance to get to know better." He turned bright red but smiled over at me.

Emmett tried to say something, but his mother just raised her hand and he closed his mouth.

Dinner went by quickly. Carlisle and Eleazar recruited the boys to clear the table and to do the dishes. Eleazar kissed Carmen on the cheek and told her to take herself and the rest of the ladies into the family room and start getting everything ready to decorate.

I had never had so much fun decorating for Christmas before. It was always just me and my parents and our tiny house in Forks. Doing it with a bigger family turned it into a party. It also gave Jasper and Emmett a chance to tease Edward and I. They both found sprigs of mistletoe and kept holding them above one of our heads.

"Hey, Ed, Bella over here has something above her head, don't ya think you should do something about it?" Emmett asked with a snicker. Edward rolled his eyes, but stepped over to me and placed a small kiss on my lips.

Jasper thought that Edward's blush was hilarious, but he thought Edward's reaction to someone else kissing me was even better.

"Bella, I have a piece of mistletoe, if I held it above my head, would you kiss me?" Jasper asked, shaking the mistletoe in Edward's face.

Edward let out a growl and grabbed the spring and shoved it in his back pocket. This made Jasper laugh even harder.

"So does that mean you want her to kiss your ass?" I rolled my eyes and then let out a laugh when Tanya slapped him on the back of the head.

After the tree and the family room were decorated, we all found places to relax then Carmen put in a movie. I can't remember what it was, cause Edward grabbed my hand and pulled me up off the couch. We ended up in the room he was staying in, talking a bit and kissing a lot.

"When we get back to Chicago, would it be alright if I took you out for dinner?" He asked shyly.

I smiled at him and nodded. "You mean like a date?"

"Of course I mean like a date. Isn't that the proper way for a guy to spend time with his beautiful girlfriend?" He turned bright red.

"Is that what I am? Your girlfriend?" I asked, almost in a whisper.

"I'd like you to be. I mean, if you want to of course, or we could wait until we've gotten to know each other better, but I know that I would love for you to be my girlfriend."

I let him ramble for a few seconds, I didn't understand how someone so good looking could be so nervous about asking a girl out on a date or to be his girlfriend.

I placed a finger over his lips to stop his rambling. "Edward, I would love to be your girlfriend. But, before you make that a reality, I need to tell you about my past."

I told him all about my life growing up, how I was never the pretty girl, never the outgoing girl, always teased or tormented. That it had just been in the last 6 months, that things started to change for me. I told him all about Rosalie and Alice, and how I was so grateful to Tanya for becoming my friend.

He nodded thoughtfully. "Bella, that is all part of why I like you so much. But I do have a bit of a confession to make."

"A confession?" I asked nervously. Was he going to tell me this had all been a prank, that he didn't' really like me, that he and his family were all laughing at me behind my back?

"Yeah, well, Tanya and I have always been close, she never judged me growing up, and was always my friend. Jasper and Emmett too. You see, I was exactly like you. I wasn't the athletic Cullen, or the good-looking Denali, to most of my classmates, I was known as Geekboy. When Tanya met you, and would talk about you in her emails, or phone calls, I was intrigued. She told me a little bit about your past. Not a lot, just enough for me to understand that you probably knew exactly what I went through in high school. So after several weeks of hearing all about you, I asked her to send me a picture. Bella, you're beautiful, and I knew then that I wanted to know you. So when Tanya mentioned that you weren't going home for Thanksgiving, even before I found out that she had already invited you, I begged her to bring you along because I had to meet you."

"That's your confession? Oh, Edward. That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard." I whispered as I wrapped my arms around him.

He hugged me tight and I could feel his smile against the side of my head. "So does that mean that you'll be my girlfriend? I know I won't have a ton of free time, and in a couple of years when I start my residency, things will be so crazy that we may not even talk for days, but I want to be your boyfriend, Bella, so much. So will you give me a chance?" He rambled on again.

I smiled, loving that fact that he was already thinking ahead a few years. "I would love to be your girlfriend."

His smile was breathtaking. Before I had a chance to return it, he was kissing me. We fell back on to the bed, our hands going everywhere. When I felt his hand slip under my shirt and onto my lower back, I gasped. His hand was so warm, and his touch gave me tingles. I felt his hand inching up, burning up my skin as he trailed his fingers along. Just before he reached my bra, there was a banging on the door.

"Okay lovebirds. No fucking in my parents house." Was shouted by Tanya on the other side of closed door. It was like a bucket of ice water being thrown over us. We both groaned and pulled apart.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I don't know what came over me."

"No, don't be sorry. I was enjoying myself. But Tanya's right, this isn't the place for that. Maybe sometime in the near future?" I asked, a small smile playing across my face.

Edward grinned back at me. "I like that idea."

Edward helped me up off of the bed and he walked me down the hall to my room. He gave me one last kiss goodnight and I headed in to go to sleep.

The rest of the weekend passed quickly. Before I knew it, it was Saturday night and Tanya and I were packing up to head back to Evanston the next morning. Jasper had already gone back to Milwaukee to spend some of the weekend with his girlfriend, Maria. Emmett and Edward were heading back at the same time as us; Emmet's flight was leaving from Chicago late Sunday night.

Somehow, Edward convinced Tanya to drive Emmett to the airport so that I could drive back with him. I was ecstatic to be spending 3 hours alone with Edward. We hadn't had much alone time since are make out session on Thursday night.

The drive from Madison back to Chicago was fantastic. It's amazing the things you can find out when cooped up in a car for 3 hours. We discovered we had the same taste in music, which led to finding out we liked the same movies as well. When we arrived at my dorm, he walked me to my door and we made plans for him to drive out the next Saturday. He was going to take me to lunch and maybe something after. When he leaned in to kiss me, I got a little lost. We didn't part until someone walked passed us and laughed.

"Sorry, I seem to lose myself a little whenever I kiss you." He said with his arms still wrapped around me.

"I know the feeling. Thank you for this weekend, Edward. It's been the best weekend of my life."

"Mine too. I'm already looking forward to Saturday. I'll be here around 12, and I'll call and text this week, okay?"

We kissed once more, this time chastely and then he was gone.

Over the next few weeks, we talked on the phone every night. Sometimes just for a few minutes because our schedules were hectic, we both had finals coming up, so most of our spare time was spent studying. Even though we were both very busy, Edward still made time to drive to Evanston every weekend. After our first date, we knew we had something special.

The Christmas holidays finally arrived. Edward had convinced me to stay in Chicago for Christmas, and to spend it with him and his family. I didn't want to spend it away from my parents, so when Edward said that Esme suggested they fly to us and stay with them, I was sold. My Mom was excited to come spend the holiday away from Forks, they were due to fly in on December 23rd.

The weekend prior, Edward wanted to do something different and take me into Chicago for dinner. Tanya helped me get ready, insisting that I wear a dress that she had recently bought. It was a long sleeved, blue dress, a lot more casual than I was expecting after seeing it on the hanger, but what shocked me, was that I actually fit into the size 10 dress.

"It looks amazing on you!" She said with a huge smile on her face.

"I hope Edward likes it." I said, my usual self consciousness seeping into my voice.

"Oh shut up. He is going to love it. And besides, He loves you anyway, so it's a moot point!"

I felt my jaw drop. "Huh? Love?" I knew that I was already falling for him, I knew it was fast, but to hear someone say that he was feeling the same way about me was shocking.

"Bella, he's loved you since before you two met, he saw the picture I sent and started to drool. Edward doesn't form romantic attachments easily or quickly, it comes with the way he was treated when we were younger, but he adores you, I know he's fallen in love with you. And honestly, what's not to love? You're an amazing girl and I'm so lucky to be able to call you my friend."

I nodded; I could feel the tears in my eyes from everything she'd said. Just as she pulled me in for a hug, there was a knock on the door. I gave Tanya a wet smile and pulled open the door. Edward stood there, looking amazing in a pair of dark jeans and a green sweater.

He looked a little dumbfounded before he shook his head to clear it. "Wow, Bella, you look amazing."

I blushed and thanked him. He gave Tanya a quick hug and we were off.

"I hope you don't mind, but I remember you saying that you'd never had real Chicago deep dish, so I thought we could go to a place I go to often near my place?" He asked as we walked down to his car.

"Yeah, actually that sounds great." I was really excited about that idea.

He gave me a huge, happy smile and helped me into his car. The drive into the city didn't take too long, but the roads were a bit snowy and icy. We chatted about our week and how much studying we had done. When we pulled up in front of a small pizza place, my mouth started to water. I could smell the fresh pizza crust from the street.

Edward taught me the fine art of eating deep dish pizza. Both the company and the food were amazing. We talked and laughed the whole time. When we were done eating, I knew I didn't want the night to end and before I had a chance to voice that thought, Edward was doing it for me.

"So, uh. I really don't want to take you home yet, would you want to do something else?"

"I'd love that, what did you have in mind?" _I'd do anything you wanted_, I thought to myself.

"Well, I don't want to seem presumptuous, but my apartment is just a few blocks away, we could head over there and watch a movie or talk or something." He said nervously.

"Yeah, I'd like that, let's go."

"Good! Great!" He said enthusiastically. He helped me put my coat on, took my hand and led me back to his car. Just before he opened the passenger seat to help me in, he smiled down at me.

"Bella, I'd really like to kiss you now. May I?" He asked sweetly.

I just nodded. He lowered his lips to mine and gave me a sweet kiss. I heard him let out a happy sigh just as he pulled away. He helped me in to the car and gave me another little kiss. We stopped at a little convenience store and picked up some soda and snacks and then headed to his place.

It was a nice, one bedroom apartment with a view of downtown Chicago. I could tell that Esme had been the one to decorate; it had nice furniture and even had some artwork on the walls. Not a typical bachelor pad. He had even decorated for Christmas with a small Christmas tree lit up in the corner.

We picked out a movie and settled on the couch with our snacks. Edward wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close, kissing my forehead as he pressed play on the remote. We didn't really watch the movie, instead we spent the time chatting and kissing. Every time he pressed his lips to mine they lingered longer. We were almost breathless when we broke apart.

"Bella, I really need to tell you something. I hope it's not too soon, but I think I've felt this way since before I met you." He took a deep breath and looked at me with a small smile.

"What is it?" I asked, I wasn't worried; I could tell from the way he was looking at me that it wasn't something bad.

"Bella, I love you. Like I said, I know it's too soon, but I had to tell you. You're such an amazing person, I just.." He trailed off and I smiled at him.

"I love you too. And yeah, It seems like it's too soon, but at the same time, it just feels right."

His responding smile was almost blinding. I barely had a chance to smile back when he attacked. He pulled me onto his lap and attached his lips to mine. His hands were on my hips, pulling me closer into him. I could feel his arousal through my panties. I moaned a little and ground myself against him.

"Oh, Bella. Please, tell me to stop now, or I won't be able to."

I gasped and looked into his eyes. All I saw was the love he told me he felt mixed with desire. I decided to be a little bit bold. "And what if I don't want you to stop?"

"You don't?" He asked, almost gleeful sounding. "I don't want to take advantage of you. You're everything to me and I don't want to do anything you don't want to do."

"I want to, Edward, so much. You know I've only had one partner, and how that all happened, but I want you. Please?"

"You don't even have to ask." He resumed kissing me and he let his hands roam, under the skirt of my dress and up my thighs. He slid his hands up my back and pushed the dress up over my head. Self-consciousness tried to take over and I tried to cover myself, but Edward would have none of that.

"Please don't cover yourself. You're beautiful." He murmured and his hands slid up from my hips to cover my breasts.

His touch sent sparks through my whole body. I closed my eyes and let my head fall back as he gently kneaded. I felt his hands slip around to my back and he tried to release my bra. He fumbled a bit before it finally gave way.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly, "I've never actually done that before."

I just smiled at him and pulled him in for a kiss. When we pulled away, he smiled at me and slid me off of his lap. I immediately started to feel the rejection, but he quickly cleared those thoughts from my mind.

"I would love to continue this here, but I don't want the first time I make love to you to be on the couch. Let's go to my bedroom."

I nodded as he took my hand and led me down the hall to his room. He didn't turn on the light as he led me to his bed and lowered me to the lie against the pillows.

"You're incredibly beautiful, I am so lucky that you're going to share this night with me." He said in a whisper and then pressed his lips against mine.

Together we slowly removed his clothes and dropped them in a small pile beside the bed. I took a moment to look at him; his tall frame was thin, but not gangly. His stomach had just the hint of definition, a slight v leading from his hips down. His cock was standing tall and proud, not huge, but bigger than I was expecting.

I let my eyes roam up his body to his face. His eyes were burning with happiness and desire, and his cheeks held the hint of a blush. I smiled up at him, reaching my hand up and I lightly grasped his length in my hand. His head fell back and a moan escaped from his lips. With a bit of pressure I stroked up and down, enjoying the feeling of him in my hand and the sounds that were coming from deep in his chest. He reached down and stopped my hand from moving.

"Baby, I'm going to stop you, not because I want to, but if you don't stop now, I will not last much longer. It's been a very long time for me and I don't want to disappoint you." He said, the strain in his voice evident.

I just nodded and released his cock and smiled up at him. "You could never disappoint me."

He let out a breath and covered my body with his, his lips claiming mine. I closed my eyes and just felt. I let my hands slide across his chest around to his back, pulling him even closer to me. His hands wandered my body, running down my torso, over my hips and to my thighs. He hooked his hand around one of my thighs and helped me part my legs further so that he could slip between them. His arousal, hard and heavy, was against the wetness that was pooling at my entrance.

He pulled back from my lips, just far enough to take a breath before he attached his lips to my neck and slowly made his way down to my chest. His tongue swirled around a nipple of one breast while his hand slid up and cupped the other. He didn't stay there long; his lips and tongue blazing a path down to my stomach. He looked up at me and then swirled his tongue around my belly button, causing me to let out a giggle. He grinned and went back to his exploration. Soon his mouth was hovering about my mound. He looked up at me again, his eyes asking permission. I took a deep breath and nodded. I didn't know what to expect, but was willing to try, for him.

He took a tentative lick of my slit and we let out a moan at the same time. He moved in closer, using his fingers to spread my lips slightly and then gently sucked my clit into his mouth. I gasped and felt my back involuntarily arch off the bed.

He pulled back quickly and looked up at me. "Are you okay?" He asked with concern.

"Oh god, yes." I gasped out.

He stared at me for another minute and then brought his mouth back down to my now dripping pussy. His lips attached to my clit as he sucked lightly. I gasped again. But this time he didn't stop. Instead he slowly pushed one of his long fingers into me. I had never felt anything like it before. He continued to lick and suck at my clit as he used his fingers to fuck me. I was sure there was a waterfall flowing out of me. I felt my lower abdomen getting tighter, almost like a knot was forming. I opened my eyes and looked down at him, he was staring up at me, his eyes wide. He detached his lips from me; just long enough to pull his lips back and lightly nibble on my throbbing clit. I felt my entire body tense and the knot snapped. My hands gripped the sheet on the bed and my entire body tried to arch off the bed, but Edward had placed his forearm across my stomach to prevent me from flying away. He removed his fingers from inside me, but continued to lick as I came down from my high.

He slowly moved back up my body, kissing everywhere as he made his ascent. "That was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. Thank you for letting me try that." He said, a small smile on his face, his mouth slightly wet from my arousal.

I felt myself blush. "Uh, You're welcome? It was amazing; I've never had anyone do that before. But, you knew that. I'm not experienced at all."

"I know, sweetie. You know that I'm not either." He kissed me, letting me taste myself on his lips. I wasn't sure about the taste, but he seemed to enjoy it.

I felt his cock brush up against the entrance to my pussy and I pushed my hips up toward him. He moaned and pushed himself against me. He pulled back slightly and looked into my eyes.

"Bella, if you're not ready for this, please tell me now. I will stop if you want or need me to." He said sweetly.

"I'm ready Edward. I trust you and I love you." He smiled brilliantly again.

He aligned his hips with mine and slowly pushed his cock inside me. Both of us moaning as he filled me, I had never felt so full or felt so perfect in my life. We fumbled a bit getting a rhythm. Both of us were giggling as we tried to find the perfect position for both of us. But once we found it, I felt my heart race. He felt it too, his hips moving against mine, brushing against my clit with every pass, his cock slipping in and out of my pussy at just the right speed. I felt the knot forming again. I instinctively knew that he was getting closer too because his hips started to move erratically and his breath started to come out in pants.

Then he started to speak. "Oh, fuck, my Bella. You feel so amazing, please tell me you're close again, cause I'm almost there. I won't be able to hold on much longer."

I gasped as his pelvis hit my clit in just the right spot. My hips arched again, making Edward's cock plunge even deeper inside. The knot snapped again and I was screaming his name.

I felt his cock swell inside me at the same time that he started panting out my name and a few 'fucks'. He pushed himself inside me once more and then collapsed on top of me, panting against my neck.

I wrapped my arms around him, revelling in the feeling of his weight on top of me. Once he caught his breath, he propped himself up on his elbows and kissed me sweetly.

"Thank you, Bella. That was amazing. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Edward."

He rolled off of me, onto his back and pulled me into his arms. I rested my head on his chest and took a long, contented breath.

"It feels so right with you here." He said as he pressed his lips to my forehead.

"I feel right here, I never want to leave."

He took a deep breath. I thought it sounded ominous, but when I looked up at him, his face was happy. "So don't." He said with a smile.

My eyes went wide; the implication behind his statement was huge. But, did he mean just for the night, or forever?

**TEN YEARS LATER**

"Ugh, Baby, Do we have to go to this stupid thing?" I asked for about the hundredth time as I pulled on the red dress that Tanya had helped me pick out.

"Yes, sweetie, we do." Edward said as he pulled on his bright red tie with Santa embroidered on the bottom. It was a gift that our daughter Ellie had given him the Christmas before.

Edward and I had been together for just over ten years. After the first night we made love, I didn't go back to my dorm to live. Much to my parent's dismay and Esme's delight, I moved into Edward's apartment. Our first Christmas together was amazing. Our families fell in love with each other, and even to this day, Esme and my mother spoke at least once a week.

A year later, under his parents huge Christmas tree, with all of our family surrounding us, Edward asked me to marry him. A year after that, on New Year's Eve, we were married.

3 years later, on Christmas Eve, our five-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Ann Cullen was born.

I was now about 9 weeks into my second pregnancy. Not showing yet, but my boobs looked amazing.

"I don't understand why they decided to have my high school reunion during the Christmas holidays! We could be in Madison with our family like normal! But NO, we have to be here, in Forks, where my parent's don't even live anymore, to socialize with people I don't even like! Why did I let you and Tanya talk me into this?" I ranted. The pregnancy hormones were really getting to me.

"Bella, calm down or you're going to cause your blood pressure to spike. We don't need you passing out now!" Edward said as he pulled me into his arms. As usual, they calmed me. "You let me and Tan talk you into this, because you need to have closure, you need to show those idiots from high school that you did grow into that Beautiful amazing Swan. Even though you've been a Cullen for a while now." He added with a wink.

I rolled my eyes, but felt my heart warm. He always knew exactly what to say to make me feel better. "You're right, let's go. The faster we get there, the faster we can get back and head home."

The people organizing my 10-year high school reunion had decorated the school gym to look like a winter wonderland, or at least I thought that's what they were trying to do. It looked more like they had the Kindergarten glass from the elementary school do the decorating for them.

Edward and I walked up to the registration table to sign in. Much to my shock, Alice Brandon was manning the desk. Her nametag had her graduation photo on it along with her married name. She was Alice Newton, poor Mike, he wasn't as bad as most of the jocks, but he didn't deserve to be married to a woman like Alice.

Alice looked like she had had a ton of work done. Her boobs were too big for her small frame and her face looked a little too tight for a normal 28-year-old woman.

"I don't think you're in the right place. This is for Forks High graduates from 2004." She said as she eyed my husband up and down.

"Well, that would include me." I said, with a sweet smile.

"I don't recognize you, are you sure you went to Forks?" She asked, looking me up and down, the red Gucci dress that Tanya had picked out fit my size 12 body perfectly and the black Louboutin pumps that Edward had bought me the week before elongated my legs and made them look amazing.

"Isabella Swan." I said and watched with glee as her eyes went wide.

"Isabella?" She squeaked out.

Edward smirked at me, I told him what to expect when people realized who I was. I wasn't the mousy little ugly girl anymore. Thanks to Edward, Tanya and their family, I blossomed. "It's actually Cullen now. Bella Cullen." Edward said with a squeeze to my side.

"Cullen? As in, Cullen Pediatrics? The Cullen Pediatrics that developed the Cullen Pediatric Cardiac pump?" She asked in a ramble.

Edward smirked again, "Ah, you've heard of the product I developed. Good to know that it's name has reached nation wide."

Alice just stared with her overly collagen injected mouth hanging open, until another nasally voice interrupted her stupor. "Alice, GOD, there's a line forming." Rosalie Hale yelled as she sauntered up to the table. Her now plump body seemed to be sewn into a dress that was a size or two too small.

I snickered as I looked at her; she was bigger than I had ever been back in high school. She spun around and sent a glare my way. "Who are you? I don't recognize you, did you go to Forks High?" She asked, the disdain from back then still present in her voice.

"Bella Cullen." I said, "But you would remember me as Isabella Swan."

She looked at me a little wide eyed and then let out a snort. "Yeah right, how much did Isabella pay you to come in her place?"

I felt Edward tense next to me, and heard a menacing growl come from his lips. Rosalie's eyes went a bit wide as she looked at Edward, fear flashed in her eyes for a second before she composed herself.

"My wife did NOT pay or lie about anything." He gritted out, and then turned to look down at me. "God, Bella, you weren't kidding when you said that you went to high school with some real assholes." He looked down at the table in front of us, found my name tag, placed it on my chest, gave me a heartbreaking smile and then turned back to Rosalie and Alice.

"Now, if you will excuse us, my wife and I are going to find our table and enjoy our dinner courtesy of the Forks High School Alumni. It would be in your best interest if you ignore us the rest of the evening." He said with authority and led me into the gym. I melted into his side as we sat down. The tears were threatening to spill. I hadn't felt like the vulnerable girl in years, and for some reason, even without saying anything that bad, the bitches that tormented me in high school made me feel like the ugly girl again.

"Bella, darling. Don't even acknowledge what they were trying to insinuate. You are amazing and you are mine."

I sniffed a little bit and smiled up at him. "Thank you, Edward. You are amazing and wonderful and I don't know how I would have survived without you over the last ten years."

"Right back at you baby" He pulled me to him for a deep kiss. We broke apart when the rest of the guests arrived at the table. I was amazed that we were seated with the few people I did get along with in high school.

The rest of the night was spent listening to people reminiscing about high school and I was so happy that I didn't have to relive it. Edward and I left right after dinner was served, before the speeches were made and before all the silly awards that they think are warranted at reunions. We headed back to our motel room, called our daughter, who was at home in Madison with both sets of her Grandparents then made love and fell asleep.

The next day, we flew home. Emmett and his wife Angela picked us up at the airport and we were home, where we belonged, before midnight on Christmas Eve. We celebrated that year by telling our families that we were expecting another baby. Added to the joy, was the fact that Jasper and his wife Maria were also expecting their third. Our family was growing and thanks to that, Christmas would only get better and better.

**Thanks for reading…**

** What did you think? I have also contributed part of the collab that started posting today. I will have a link to the full story along with the other one shots in the countdown on my profile. ENJOY!**


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